Shipping container



Jan. 23, 1962 A. J. GORAND ETAL 3,018,021

SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed March 9, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet i RED J ALF CHARLES H. BROOKS ATT RNEY Jan. 23, 1962 A. J. GORAND ETAL 3,018,021

SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed March 9, 1959 3 SheetsSheet 2 54 E as IN V EN TORS ALFRED J. GORAND CHARLES H. BROOKS AT ORNEY Jan. 23, 1962 V A. J. GORAND ETAL 3,013,021

SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed March 9, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS ALFRED J. GORAND CHARLES H. BROOKS A ORNEY ilnited tates Patent 3,013,021 SHIPPHNG CUNTAINER Alfred .I. Gerand, Ridley Park, and Charles H. Brooks,

Swarthmore, Pa, assignors to Sun Gil Company, Philadeiphia, Pa, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 798,050 (flaims. (Cl. 222-152) This invention relates to a shipping container, and more particularly to a shipping container utilizable for materials which are adversely affected by exposure to air or moisture.

In the chemical process industries, certain dry fine solids must be handled (i.e., shipped or transported) in such a way as to involve no exposure of such solids to air. For example, a certain chemical process employs a catalyst mixture one component of which is titanium trichloride, TiCl The handling of TiCl preseats a two-fold problem. In the first place, TiCl reacts with oxygen (air) and moisture, this compound actually smoldering in contact wit-h air. There is a safety problem here, since this smoldering releases chlorine. In the second place, the TiCl, loses its catalytic activity after exposure to air or moisture; this loss is of course uneconomic and therefore undesirable.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel airtight and moisture-proof shipping container.

Another object is to provide a novel type of air-tight emptying or unloading apparatus for emptying the contents of an air-tight shipping container.

A further object is to provide a novel air-tight materials handling system for materials which are adversely affected by exposure to air.

The objects of this invention are accomplished, briefly, in the following manner: proof container, preferably of cylindrical form, is provided with a filling or loading opening at one end and an emptying or unloading opening at its other end. The filling opening is adapted to be sealed by means of a heat-scalable closure, while the emptying opening is provided with a valve which is normally biased to a closed position. A supply of inert gas under pressure is carried by the container structure but outside the container proper; means are provided for manipulating this supply, at the time of emptying of the container, to feed inert gas to the interior of the container. For emptying the container, one end of a conduit is placed in sealing engagement with the container, this conduit enclosing the emptying valve and the other end of this conduit communicating with a process vessel. position of this conduit serves to release a locking means which when locked prevents premature operation of the means for feeding inert gas to the container. A connection is provided on the conduit for introducing a stream of inert gas into the conduit. The conduit is provided with a valve opening means, operable in response to suitable movement of the conduit, for opening the emptying valve.

A detailed description of the invention follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherem:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical or longitudinal cross-section of the container of this invention, as it would appear in the shipping condition;

FIGURE 2 is a view, on an enlarged scale, of the upper portion of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view, on an enlarged scale, of the lower portion of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, but showing the emptying fixture in position, prior to the actual emptying; and

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4, except An air-tight and moisture- The placing in that the emptying valve has been opened so that emptying can proceed.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, an elongated metallic container body 3 comprises the main portion of the container. This body is hollow and is preferably cylindrical in shape. Near the lower end of body 3, a conical wall 34 is secured to the interior of the body, there being an annular space 9 between. this conical wall and the outer cylindrical wall of the body. Conical wall 34 tapers inwardly from a maximum diameter at its upper end. A horizontally-extending bottom closure head or partition 33, more or less in the form of a disc, is sealed at its outer diameter to the cylindrical wall of body 3 and is sealed at its inner diameter to the conical wall 34; thus, head 33 seals oif the lower end of the annular space 9. The amount of taper of wall 34 is such that the angle between this wall and the horizontal head 33 is greater than the angle of repose of the solid material intended to be shipped in the container. The lower end of body 3 provides a bottom protective chime 4 below the bottom closure head 33. The necessity for this protective chime will become apparent as the description proceeds; for the present, it will be stated merely that this chime protects, during shipment, parts .of the overall container which extend below closure head 33.

At the apex of the conical wall 34 an emptying opening is provided, in which there is positioned a bottom closure denoted generally by numeral 8. This bottom closure will be described more in detail hereinafter, but for the present it will be stated merely that a valve seat is provided in the conical wall, and that a spring-biased valve is sealingly positioned in this seat to serve as an emptying valve.

A container top member 1, comprising a horizontallyextending metallic top closure head 12 (more or less in the form of a disc) and an upwardly-extending substantially cylindrical wall forming a top protective chime 10, is clamped (as by means of a top clamp ring 2, e.g. a split ring) to the upper end of body 3. This clamping is such that head 12 is sealed in air'tight relation to the upper end of body 3. The upper portion of protective chime 10 is reduced in diameter somewhat,

.in order to permit stacking of the containers. The diameters of chime 10 and of chime 4 are so proportioned that the container top 1 will fit snugly inside the chime 4 of a superposed container. At the same time, these proportions are such that the lower container will not extend into the chime 4 of the upper container sutficiently I to damage any of the operating parts of the upper container.

able for separating the material in the container from the metal of head 12. The container body or drum 3 has a I similar lining 30 covering its entire inner surface. Linings 19 and 30 are preferably made of a stiff but resilient plastic material which will adhere to the metal of the top head 12 and of the body 3, respectively. By way of example, polyethylene and polypropylene are suitable materials for this use. To make absolutely certain that the joint between these two linings (i.e., the joint at the upper end of body 3, between this body and top member 1) is air-tight, a top seal ring 11 and a bottom seal ring 20 can be used between the juxtaposed surfaces of clamp ring 2 and top member 1 and body 3.

The upper end of the container body vent tube 31 is visible in FIGURE 2. This tube, the purpose of which will be explained in detail hereinafter, comes up the in side of the container body, near the outer wall thereof,

and opens into the interior of the container, near the upper head 12, by means of a reentrant bend. This metallic tube, being located inside the container, is covered with the same material as that used to line the drum 3. A support 32, made of the lining material for example, is secured to tube 31 and also to the lining 30, that is, to the container body 3. This support is provided to prevent vibration and bending of tube 31, which would otherwise have a long unsupported length. Speaking in general terms, the pressurizing device 6 (see FIGURE 1) is coupled to the lower end of vent tube 31, and functions to prevent surging when solids flow out of the container of the invention. This is accomplished by releasing an inert gas into the top of the container, by way of tube 31. This surging would otherwise result when very finely powdered materials are being shipped in the container, since such materials tend to flow almost like liquids. Of course, if the material being shipped were in the form of pellets, the pressurizing device 6 and vent tube 31 would not be necessary. If these two latter elements were eliminated, the purging arrangement 7 for annular space 9 (which purging arrangement will be described in detail hereinafter) would not be necessary, since the annular space 9 would then be sealed off from the interior of the container, at all times (due to the elimination of tube 31).

The upper end of an elongated spring 82, which serves as a means for normally biasing the emptying valve to a closed position, is secured to the upper head 12. This spring, which extends from one end of the container to the other end thereof inside the container, is metallic (steel, for example) and is covered throughout its length with the same material as that used to line the drum 3. Alternatively, this spring may be made of a material which will not be affected by the container contents; in this case, the plastic covering may be omitted from the spring.

Toward one edge thereof, the top head 12 (and likewise the head lining 19) has an opening 21 therein which serves as the container filling opening. A filling closure lower flange 13, which may be simply a metallic annulus having an inner diameter the same as the diameter of opening 21, is fixedly secured, as by welding, to the top head 12. The inner edges of members 12 and 13 (i.e., the edges of these members at opening 21) are covered at 13a with the lining material, to prevent contamination. The covering of lining material is carried over the upper surface of member 13, thus forming in effect an annular gasket or ring 14 whose inner and outer diameters are approximately the same as the respective diameters of flange 13. Member 18 is a tubular member of a heatsealable plastic material with a flange, of the same material, having 'an outer diameter approximately the same as that of flange 13. The flange of member 18 overlies the ring 14. The closure member 18, which is made of a heat-scalable material, might be made of a material different from that used to line the drum. A filling closure upper flange 15, which may be of the same material, shape, and size as flange 13, overlies the member 18. A disk-shaped filling closure gasket 16, similar in material and outer diameter to the filling closure member 18, overlies the upper flange 15. Finally, a metallic filling closure cover plate 17, an imperforate disk whose outer diameter is the same as that of members 13, 18, 15, and 16, overlies gasket 16. It may be seen that members 13, 18, 15, 16, and 17 are all concentric with the center of filling opening 21. The members 18, 15, 16, and 17 may be detachably held in the assembled position illustrated in FIGURE 2 by any suitable means, eg by means of bolts (not shown) which pass through these members and are threaded into flange 13.

Refer now to FIGURE 3, which is a fragmentary view, on an enlarged scale, showing the details of the pressurizing device 6 which functions to supply pressurized inert gas to the container, to ease removal of the solids. An externally-threaded collar 45 is welded and sealed within an aperture in bottom head 33, and extends downwardly from this head to serve as a guide tube. Positioned in guide tube 45 is a small pressure cylinder or gas bottle 40 filled with an inert gas (such as nitrogen) under pressure, or as a liquid. This bottle 40 contains sufficient pressurized inert gas to result in a gas volume (at atmospheric pressure) approximately equal to the volume of solids intended to be shipped in the container. The bottom of bottle 40 fits tightly into a cup-shaped plastic member 64, which functions as a support for the bottle and also as a seal which seals off the interior of the container from air. The upper ends of the upstanding walls of member 64 sealingly engage the bottom of tube 45. In order to support in turn the member 64, the bottom surface of this member rests on or engages the inner surface of a pressurizing device cover 61, which is provided with internal threads mating with the threads on collar 45. It may now be seen that if member 64 were not provided, it would be possible for air to leak in around the threads of tube 45 and cover 61, past the bottle 40 and through the open lower end of vent tube 31 up into the container.

The outer or exterior surface of cover 61 is provided with an upstanding boss 62 having a boss recess 63 therein. This boss recess permits a wrench to be inserted therein, in order to screw cover 61 toward head 33 at certain times. To lock cover 61 in place, and thus to prevent it from being turned inadvertently, an outwardlyextending cover locking lug 65, having an aperture thereing, is rigidly secured to cover 61. A pivot pin 68 is mounted at one end of a support member 6% whose other end is rigidly secured to the lower surface of bottom head 33, and mounted for pivotal movement about pin 68 is a locking arm 67. The end of arm 67 remote from pivot 68 carries a locking pin 66 which is adapted to extend through the aperture in lug 65. When pin 66 is in this aforesaid lug aperture, as illustrated in FIGURE 3, arm 67 prevents rotation of cover 61, thus locking the latter, but when arm 67 is pivoted clockwise from the FIGURE 3 position to remove pin 66 from lug 65, cover 61 is released or unlocked, and is then free to rotate. A locking arm spring 60, of the tension type, is mounted between head 33 and the arm 67, near the right-hand or pin end of the latter. Spring 60 pulls upwardly on arm 67 and thus biases the pin 66 end of arm 67 in the counterclockwise direction, thereby normally maintaining pin 66 in contact with lug 65. When the left-hand end of arm 67 is pushed upwardly against the force of spring 60, this spring is stretched and the right-hand end of arm 67 moves downwardly or clockwise, removing pin 66 from lug 65 and thereby releasing or unlocking cover 61.

In order to retain the gas bottle 40 in position in its seat 64, one end of a compression spring 42 surrounds the neck of this bottle and bears against the upper end of the bottle. The opposite end of spring 42 bears against a spring retainer 43 which is held in an elevated position above head 33 by means of a spider-like retainer support 44- which is fastened to head 33 and to retainer 43. Spring 42 pushes bottle 40 downwardly with respect to the (relatively fixed) support 43, thus holding this bottle firmly in position.

As previously stated, the upper end of vent tube 31 opens into the interior of the container, near the upper end thereof (see FIGURES 1 and 2). The lower end of tube 31 is aligned with bottle 40, and is provided with a sharp tip 41 which is capable of puncturing the top of bottle 40. It may be seen, therefore, that when bottle 40 is caused to move upwardly (in a manner to be described hereinafter), tip 41 will puncture bottle 40, releasing the inert gas which will then flow under pressure upwardly through tube 31 into the top of the container.

The upper end of spring 82 (the closure plug spring) is fastened to top head 12 (see FIGURE 2), and this spring extends from top to bottom of the container, inside the container (see FIGURE 1). The lower end of spring 82 is attached to a conical closure plug 80, completely covered at 81 with the same material as that used to line the drum or body, this plug constituting an emptying valve. The container body lining 3t), following down the conical wall 34, is formed into a closure plug seat 85 at the emptying opening adjacent the apex of the conical wall. This plug seat 85 is essentially frusto-conical in form, and is adapted to be sealingly engaged by the emptying valve or plug 80 when the latter is pulled upwardly by spring 82. The lining 3t below the valve seat 85, has a re-entrant portion 86 which provides a horizontally-extending closure flange gasket.

Spring 82 is sufliciently strong, and has sufficient tension, so that emptying valve fit will be pulled up to seal tightly against seat 85. In other Words, spring 82 comprises means normally biasing valve St to a closed position. There must be suflicient resiliency in this spring to permit the elongation required in emptying (when valve St is pulled downwardly, away from seat 85), without producing a permanent set in the spring. Spring 82 is covered With the same material as that used to line the drum.

The conical valve 86 should have its apex angle such that the side or curved surface makes an angle with the horizontal greater than the angle of repose of the solid material intended to be shipped in the container. The seat 35 should make an angle with the horizontal slightly less than that of the side surface of valve 8%.

Although valve 8b is illustrated as conical in form, any shape such that a tight seal Will result against a matching shape for seat 85, will be satisfactory.

In order to permit the valve or closure plug to be pulled downwardly, thereby to open this valve and allow emptying of the container, a pull ring 33 is firmly attached to the bottom of valve flit. This pull ring is covered with the same material as that used to line the drum, since it may at times come into contact with the material being shipped in the container. In general, it may be stated that the surfaces of all of the metallic parts which do or may at any time contact the material being shipped, are covered with the plastic material previously referred to, to prevent contamination.

Between the bottom head 33 and the closure flange gasket 86, there is located an annular member 22. which comprises an emptying closure flange. Member 22 may be simply a metallic annulus having an inner diameter the same as the diameter of the emptying opening provided in conical wall 3 5 and in bottom head 33, and is fixedly secured, as by welding, to the bottom head 33. In this connection, it may be noted that the closure flange gasket #56 lies immediately below the flange 22, and engages or contacts the lower surface of said flange. The outer diameter of gasket 86 is substantially equal to the outer diameter of flange 22. A closure flange 87, which may be of the same material, shape, and size as flange 22, under lies the gasket 86. Members 87, 86, and 22 are intended to be permanently held together in any suitable manner, such as by the use of bolts, etc. (not shown). As may be seen in FIGURE 4, the members 87, 86, and 22 are all concentric with the center of the emptying opening.

Refer again to FIGURE 3. A closure plug protective cover 35, made of the same material as that used to line the drum, is positioned immediately below closure flange 87. Imperforate cover 35 has an outer diameter about the same as that of flange 87, and the central portion of this cover (i.e., the portion thereof which is within the emptying opening proper) is bowed outwardly, to clear the pull ring 83 which projects downwardly from valve 8t). As previously stated, the spring 82 has sufficient tension to normally hold the emptying valve 80 tightly against seat 85, that is, to hold this valve closed. However, if any of the fine solid material in the container should happen to sift out of the container (past valve 80) during transit, cover 35 will collect and retain the same. In addition, cover 35 will completely seal the container bottom opening, during transit.

A metallic closure protective cap 5 (shown in FIG- URES 1 and 3) is positioned immediately below cover 35. This cap has a central crown portion whose diameter is approximately equal to the diameter of the emptying opening, this central portion being joined to or integral with an upper annular horizontally-extending portion. The upper annular portion of cap 5 abuts the lower surface of cover 35, and suitable means (not shown) are provided in order to detachably secure: cap 5 and cover 35 in position on flange 87. The upper annular portion of cap 5 has an outer diameter somewhat greater than that of the various members 35, 87, etc., so that when cap 5 is in position the same will project outwardly beyond members 35, 87, etc. so as to underlie the lefthand end of arm or lever 67. This protects the left-hand end of such arm, and prevents any inadvertent or premature pushing upwardly of this end of the arm, thus preventing a premature releasing of the locking means provided for cover 61.

In FIGURE 1, a purging arrangement for annular space 9 is denoted generally by numeral 7. This arrangement enables purging of the annular space 9 and is shown in more detail in FIGURE 4, to which reference will now be made. Two small tapped apertures 23 and 24- are provided in bottom head 33, near the outer edge thereof and more or less opposite to the location of the bottle 46) previously referred to. A purge inlet line 71 is welded and sealed into aperture 23, and a purge inlet fitting 7G is attached to the lower or bottom end of line 71. The inlet line 71 terminates substantially flush with the upper surface of head 33. A purge outlet line 73 is welded and sealed into aperture 24, and a purge outlet fitting 72 is attached to the lower or bottom end of line 73. An internal purge line '74 is attached to line 73, and extends upwardly from head 33 to a point as close as possible to the joint between conical Wall 34 and body 3 (see FIGURE 1). Fittings 76 and '72 may be any type of self-sealing fittings (e.g., tire air valves) of a nature such that they will be opened by a hose connector, when the connector is made fast. When the hose connector is removed, these fittings will be closed.

Fitting 79 has been designated as for the inlet and fitting 72 as for the outlet. This is on the assumption that the inert gas to be used for purging is heavier than air. These connections would be reversed if the inert gas used were lighter than air.

Upon receipt of the container at the filling or loading facility, preparation for filling begins. First, items 15, 16, 17, and 18 (at the upper or filling end of the co tainer) are removed. A new tubular member 18 is applied, the upper end of this member being then open, i.e. not heat-sealed. At this time, the lower or flanged end of member 18, which overlies the ring 14, is sealed 7 to the upper surface of said ring. At the same time,

the pin or right-hand end of arm 67 is moved clockwise about pivot 68, thereby releasing or unlocking cover 61. The cover 61 is then rotated and removed. The cupseal 64 and bottle or cylinder 4t? are then removed and replaced, following which cover 61 is placed in position and turned down enough so that seal as bears against the collar or guide tube 45. Arm n7 is then released, allowing pin 66 to engage lug 65, thus locking the cover 61 in place (see FIGURE 3).

Cap 5 is removed, then the used cover 35, and the valve covering 81 is inspected, the valve 8n being pulled down for this inspection. A stream of inert gas is directed at the pull ring 83, and while this is being done, a new cover 35 is installed. The cap 5 is then replaced.

Connections are then made to fittings 7t) and 72. Then, any desired sequence of pressure and vacuum or circulation may be used to assure that the annular space 9 is thoroughly purged with inert gas (see FIGURE 4). This makes certain that any air admitted to this space (or to the interior of the container, by way of tube 31) during the replacement of seal 64 (and bottle 40) is completely removed.

The container is then moved under the filling spout (not shown), which is inserted into the open portion of tubular member 18 (see FIGURE 2). The filling spout is provided with connections which permit a cycle of alternate pressure and vacuum, the pressure being provided by inert gas. The container is then ready for filling.

The filling process then begins. The solid material (e.g., TiCl is admitted through the filling spout inserted in member 18. When the proper amount of material has been fed into the container, member 18 is gathered together below the end of the filling spout, and is heat sealed. Members 15, 16, and 17 are then put in place, and fastened down. The container is now filled, and ready for shipment or transport. The gathering together and heat sealing of the upper end of tubular member 1%, below the lower end of the filling spout, may be efiected by means of well-known bag sealing techniques. It will be realized that the members 15, 16, and 17 are not present when this heat sealing takes place, so that the upper end of member 18 is then readily accessible.

During transport, there is essentially no positive pressure inside the container, that is, the interior of the container is at substantially atmospheric pressure.

At the unloading or emptying location, an emptying fixture is used. Refer now to FIGURE 4, which illustrates the details of the bottom of the container with the unloading or emptying fixture in place, prior to the actual emptying or unloading operation. An emptying fixture, denoted generally by numeral t), includes, at the top thereof, a horizontally-extending annular disk 75 whose inner diameter is equal to the inner diameter of flange 87. An upstanding continuous ring 51 is secured to the disk 75, at the outer edge thereof. The height of this ring, and the outer diameter of the annular disk 75 of the fixture, are such that when the fixture is in the position illustrated in FIGURE 4, ring 51 will push upwardly on the left-hand end of arm 67, stretching spring 60 and pivoting the right-hand end of arm 67 clockwise to remove pin 66 from lug 65, thereby releasing or unlocking cover 61 and permitting rotation thereof. A continuous ring is provided at 51, rather than a lug; there is then no need to orient the container with the fixture 50, which latter would be necessary if a lug were used in place of a ring.

A conduit means is provided as a part of the emptying fixture. This conduit means includes three (or more) elongated slip tubes which are in telescoping relation, one within another. The upper slip tube 52 has an inner diameter equal to the inner diameter of the annular disk portion 75 of the fixture. One end of tube 52 is attached rigidly to the lower surface of disk 75, concentrically therewith and at the inner edge thereof. The intermediate slip tube 58 is mounted in telescoped relation over tube 52, sealing means or packing 53 (which may be any kind of arrangement to provide a reasonably gas-tight seal) being inserted between the inner wall of tube 58 and the outer wall of tube 57., and being fixed to the upper end of tube 58. A slip tube guide 54, in the form of an annular disk, is provided between the inner wall of tube 58 and the outer wall of tube 52, this guide being attached to the lower end of tube 52. and sliding against tube 58. The lower slip tube 59 is mounted in telescoped relation over tube 58, a packing 53 being inserted between the inner wall of tub-e 55 and the outer wall of tube 58, and being fixed to the upper end of tube 59. A slip tube guide 54 is provided between the inner wall of tube 59 and the outer wall. of tube 58, this guide being attached to the lower end of tube 58 and sliding against tube 59. A handle and stop member 25 is secured to the outer surface of tube 58, at the upper end thereof. This member may have the form of a horizontallyextending annular disk whose outer diameter is greater than the outer diameter of disk 75.

An L-shaped pull rod 55 has one end attached to the inner wall of tube 58, near the lower end of this tube. From its point of attachment, this pull rod extends substantially radially inwardly to approximately the central axis of tube 58, from whence it extends upwardly substantially axially of tubes 53 and 52. At its upper end, pull rod 55 is provided with a hook 56 which, when the fixture is in the position illustrated in FIGURE 4, is adapted to hook into the pull ring 83 of the emptying valve 80.

A purge gas connection or fitting 57 is sealed into tube 59 near the lower end thereof, by means of which fitting a purge (inert) gas supply (not shown, but provided at the container emptying location) may be connected to the interior of the conduit means 52, 58, 59. The consumer, at the emptying location, must have a supply of purge gas, for connection to fitting 57. The inert gas employed here may or may not be the same as that used at the filling location, and may or may not be the same :as that in bottle 45. However, the purge gas used at 57 must of course be inert with respect to the contents of the container, and must also be inert with respect to the gas utilized at the filling location, and with respect to the gas in bottle 44 In this connection, although the purge gas has been referred to as inert, the invention is not limited thereto. For example, if certain oxides were being shipped in the container, oxygen might be used as a purge gas; oxygen is not ordinarily considered inert. The shipping container of this invention is useful, in general, for any materials which must be handled in a particular atmosphere different from the Earths atmosphere.

The lower end of tube 59 is adapted to be placed in communication with a process vessel (not shown), into which the solid material transported in the container is desired to be discharged.

For emptying, the filled container is placed in an emptying rack of any convenient kind, so arranged that protective cap 5 (see FIGURE 3) is center directly over the fixture 5d. Inert purge gas is then started flowing through fitting 57; this purging is continued throughout the entire emptying operation. it is noted that slip tubes 52, 58, and 59 are originally in a completely retracted or telescoped position, the stop member 25 contacting the upper end of tube 55 and preventing tube 53 from being pushed too far downwardly in tube 59; similarly, disk 75 contacts the upper end of tube 58 and prevents tube 52 from being pushed too far downwardly in tube 58. Fitting 57 is so located that it will not be covered by the inner tubes, even in this completely retracted position of the slip tubes. In this retracted position, the hook 56 projects upwardly, above the upper surface of disk 75.

Next, cap 5 is removed, following which cover 35 is removed (see FIGURE 3).

Following this, an emptying fixture annular gasket 84 (which is preferably made of a plastic material, having inner and outer diameters equal respectively to those of flange 87) is placed in position, in engagement with the lower surface or" flange 37 (see FIGURE 4).

The fixture 50 being centered under closure plug and pull ring 33, the two inner slip tubes 58 and 52 are next raised out of tube 59 (by means of disk 25, which serves as a handle), and hook 56 is inserted into ring 83. in this connection, it is noted that tube 59 (and its purge gas connection, at fitting 57) may remain stationary or fixed in position at all times. Next, tube 52 is raised (while maintaining gasket 34 in position), as by means of disk 75 now serving as a handle, until disk 75 contacts the lower surface of gasket 84. The emptying fixture 50 is then made fast to the container by any suitable means (not shown). See FIGURE 4.

The raising of tube 52 causes ring 51 to press upwardly against the left-hand end of arm 67, pivoting the righthand end of this arm clockwise (against the force exerted y spsring 60) so that pin 66 becomes disengaged from Cover 61 then being released or unlocked, this cover is screwed upwardly on collar 45, crushing the cup seal 64 and forcing cylinder or bottle 40 upwardly against the downwardly-acting force of spring 42. This movement of bottle 40 upwardly is continued until the sharp tip 41 at the lower end of tube 31 pierces the bottle and places the interior of the same in communication with the lower end of said tube. Pressurized inert gas is then supplied to the upper end of the container from bottle 40, through tube 31. Cover 61 may be screwed upwardly (as desired at the time of emptying of the container) by hand, but this is preferably done by means of a wrench inserted into the boss recess 63.

The arrangement of parts resulting from all of the emptying steps so far described is illustrated in FIG- URE 4.

Next, slip tube 58 is moved downwardly by means of handle 25 (see FIGURE This pulls the rod 55 with its hook 56 downwardly, resulting in valve or closure plug 80 being pulled downwardly, stretching spring 82. The emptying valve 80 is thus opened to permit the solid material to flow out of the container through the conduit means 52, 58, 59, into the process vessel connected below tube 59.

It might be desirable to provide tube 58 with a counterweight system.

' When the container is empty, the same is prepared for return to the filling facility; to do this, a procedure somewhat the reverse of the emptying procedure described, is utilized. First, tube 58 is raised, by means of handle 25. This permits spring 82 to pull valve 80 (and its cover 81) back into contact with seat 85, thus returning to the condition of FIGURE 4. It may be seen, in this connection, that the raising of tube 58 causes rod 55 with its hook 56 to move upwardly, permitting valve 80 to move upwardly.

Next, the emptying fixture 50 is unfastened from the container, following which tube 52 is lowered (by means of disk-handle 75). Then, book 56 is removed from ring 83, if necessary raising tube 58 (by means of its handle 25) slightly in order to remove this hook. The two inner slip tubes 58 and 52 are next lowered into tube 59 (as by handles 75 and 25) until the slip tube assembly 52, 58, 59 is in a completely retracted or telescoped condition. Gasket 84 is removed, after the slip tube assembly and hook have thus been moved out of the way.

Cover 35 and cap 5 (see FIGURE 3) are then placed back in position, and made fast or secured. The container is now ready for return to the filling or loading facility.

It has previously been stated that the shipping container of this invention is preferably cylindrical in outer configuration. Purely by way of example, the container may be of a size on the order of that of a conventional SS-gallon drum.

The invention claimed is:

1. In combination, an air-tight container, said container having a filling opening therein; means adapted to close said opening after said container is filled, an emptying valve in said container, means normally biasing said valve to a closed position, valve opening means manually operable to open said valve and thereby allow emptying of said container, conduit means surrounding said valve opening means and adapted to sealingly engage said container and enclose said valve, means for introducing a stream of an inert gas into said conduit means, and separate means operable to supply a pressurized inert gas to the interior of said container.

2. In combination, an air-tight container, said container having a filling opening therein; means adapted to close said opening after said container is filled, an emptying valve in said container, means normally biasing said valve to a closed position, conduit means adapted to sealingly engage said container and enclose said valve, valve opening means secured to said conduit means and manually operable in response to movement of the latter for opening said valve, to thereby allow emptying of said container, means for introducing a stream of an inert gas into said conduit means, and separate means operable to supply a pressurized inert gas to the interior of said container.

3. In combination, an elongated air-tight container, said container having a filling opening at one end thereof; means adapted to close said opening after said container is filled, an emptying valve at the other end of said container, means normally biasing said valve to a closed position, conduit means adapted to sealingly engage said container and enclose said valve, valve opening means secured to said conduit means and manually operable in response to movement of the latter for opening said valve, to thereby allow emptying of said container, and means including a cylinder of compressed gas operable to supply a pressurized inert gas to the interior of said container, said cylinder being positioned at said other end of said container and being carried by said container.

4-. In combination, an elongated air-tight container, said container having a filling opening at one end thereof; means adapted to close said opening after said container is filled, an emptying valve at the other end of said container, means normally biasing said valve to a closed position, valve opening means manually operable to open said valve and thereby allow emptying of said container, means including a puncturable cylinder of compressed gas operable to supply a pressurized inert gas to the interior of said container, said cylinder being positioned at said other end of said container adjacent said valve and being carried by said container; manually operable means for puncturing said cylinder, locking means normally preventing operation of said puncturing means, conduit means surrounding said valve opening means and adapted to sealingly engage said container and enclose said valve, and means carried by said conduit means for disabling said locking means.

5. In combination, an elongated air-tight container, said container having a filling opening at one end thereof; means adapted to close said opening after said container is filled, an emptying valve at the other end of said container, means normally biasing said valve to a closed position, conduit means adapted to sealingly engage said container and enclose said valve, valve opening means secured to said conduit means and manually operable in response to movement of the latter for opening said valve, to thereby allow emptying of said container, means for introducing a stream of inert gas into said conduit means, and means including a cylinder of compressed gas operable at the time of emptying of said container to supply a pressurized inert gas to the interior of said container, said cylinder being positioned at said other end of said container adjacent said valve and being carried by said container.

References Cited in the file of this: patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,224,808 Sundell et al May 1, 1917 1,807,999 Friedrich May 26, 1931 2,594,072 Ridley Apr. 22, 1952 2,615,693 Matirko Oct. 28, 1952 2,842,293 Knapp et a1 July 8, 1958 2,873,051 Hamburg et al Feb. 10, 1959 

